Page 1 - Aerotech News and Review – August 2024

JOURNAL OF AEROSPACE, DEFENSE INDUSTRY AND VETERANS NEWS
AVC’s D-558-II Skyrocket to get makeover
by KC Rawley
Aerotech News
The D-558-II Skyrocket that stood on the Antelope Valley College campus in Lancaster, Calif., as a proud symbol of the college’s connection with aero- space and Edwards Air Force Base is no longer on display.
July 19, 2024, after 61 years, the plane was disconnected from its base, and by July 21 had been moved to an indoor storage location 600 feet away from its original site on AVC’s campus.
The plane has been on cam- pus since it was unveiled on May 19, 1963, with a display plaque reading in part: “The men and women of NASA (NACA), the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force Flight Test Center and Douglas Aircraft dedicate this Skyrocket to the youth of Antelope Valley.”
The Skyrocket was moved to facilitate building of the Student Commons, a result of Measure AV construction, expected to break ground in August, and to protect the artifact during that work, according to AVC. The
plan is to restore the Skyrocket to its former glory and then put it somewhere on campus, pref- erably sheltered.
“Step One is movement, and that has been achieved,” said Steve Buffalo, longtime AVC Board of Trustees member and current board clerk. The next step, he said, is for the college and board of trustees to identify a team that has the talent base for refurbish- ing the aircraft, which has been exposed to the extremes of desert elements for many years.
Ryan Cobb, senior vice presi-
dent of Coast Machinery Mov- ers, the project’s contractor, said that the Skyrocket is in fairly good shape for enduring heat, wind, and snow for 61 years.
Coast Machinery’s licensed engineers did ultrasonic test- ing on the rocket plane as part of the initial research phase of the project. “UT tests the thick- ness and condition of the metal, and the integrity of the metal is actually pretty good, all things considered,” said Cobb.
The Skyrocket Serial #37975 NACA-145 is a rocket and jet-
NASA photograph
A. Scott Crossfield with the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket NACA 144 after his record-breaking Mach 2 flight, Nov. 20, 1953. This plane is a sister ship to the Skyrocket NACA 145 at Antelope Valley College. In 1993, NASA awarded him the Distinguished Public Service Medal for his contributions to aeronautics and aviation for 50 years.
powered research supersonic aircraft built by Douglas Air- craft Company for the U.S. Navy, but they never took pos- session of it. The National Advi- sory Committee for Aeronautics (the precursor to NASA) was a U.S. federal agency created in 1915, to “undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronauti- cal reseserch.” NACA became NASA in 1958.
AVC’s Skyrocket flew a to- tal of 87 times, 21 of them contractor research flights out of Edwards Air Force Base in November of 1950. The Douglas Aircraft Company test pilots were Eugene F. May and Wil- liam Bridgeman.
One of only three ever built, the other two D-558-II Skyrock- ets built still exist, according to Aerotech News files. NACA 143 is currently in storage at Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, Ca- lif., and the most famous, NACA 144, is in the Smithsonian Na- tional Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
__ See SKYROCKET, on Page 2
The Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket at Antelope Valley College on July 19, with the specialty lifting fixture attached. The brown metal fixture was custom fabricated by Coast Machinery Movers to allow the Versalift to move the airplane. Steel plates were laid at the rear of the Versalift to protect the grass from the heavy equipment. The plane will be refurbished and reinstalled in a new location after campus construction is finished.
Photograph by Lisa Kinison
August 2024 • Volume 37, Issue 8 Serving the aerospace industry since 1986 www.aerotechnews.com www.facebook.com/aerotechnews
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